The Holy city of Amritsar derives its name from Amrit Sarovar, literally a Pool of Nectar, the holy tank that surrounds the fabulous Golden Temple. Historically also known as Ramdaspur and colloquially as Ambarsar, Amritsar is in Punjab state in north-western India, 25 km east of the border with Pakistan. Amritsar is home to the magnificent Harmandir Sahib, commonly known as the Golden Temple, the spiritual and cultural centre for the Sikh religion. The Golden Temple “gurudwara”, as Sikh temples are called, is a serene place and the holiest of shrines, radiating a calm that makes people bow their heads in reverence. Amritsar was founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. The fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan, designed Harmandir Sahib to be built in the centre of this holy tank, and upon its construction, installed the Adi Granth, the holy scripture of Sikhism, inside Harmandir Sahib and is regarded as the abode of God's spiritual attribute. This sacred shrine is equally revered by all faiths. Harmandir Sahib Temple is open 24 hours, and inside the Temple there is constant Kirtan.

Rama-tirtha-sarovara, a very important site of the great sage Valmiki’s ashram is in Amritsar. Valmiki wrote Ramayana here. Mother Sita spent her period of exile at this place in Valmiki ashram, after Lord Ramacandra banished Sita, His wife and eternal consort, during His later earthly pastimes. Pregnant and alone, Sita sought shelter at the ashram of Valmiki, where she soon gave birth to Lava and Kusha, sons of Lord Ramacandra at this ashram. Lava and Kusha spent their childhood here at Valmiki’s ashram. During Ashvamedha Yajna by Lord Ramacandra, Lava and Kusha captured a challengedhorse. The fight between Lord Ramacandra’s forces and Lava and Kusha took place here at Rama-tirtha-sarovara. Lava and Kusha tied Hanuman to a tree at a place near to today's Durgiana Temple. The cities of Lahore and Kasur, which are both now in Pakistan, and close to Amritsar, are said to be founded by Lava and Kusha, respectively.

The Samadhi of Shravan Kumar is nearby Amritsar. Shravan, a teenage boy was devout to his blind parents, taking them to pilgrimage by cradling them on his shoulder in a wooden yoke. He was accidently killed by Maharaja Dasaratha, father of Lord Ramacandra. While hunting in the forest, Dasaratha heard a sound near a lake and unleashed an arrow, hoping to hit an animal. When he crossed the lake, he found that his arrow had fatally struck a teenage boy who was bleeding. The boy, Shravan Kumar, told Dasaratha, that he had come to the lake to collect water for his parents, who were both blind. With his dying breath, Shavran requested Dasaratha to take water to his parents and to tell them what had happened. Shravan succumbed to his wounds and when Dasaratha took water for his parents and told them of his tragic mistake, they were unable to bear the shock. Despite acknowledging that it was an accident, they cursed Dasaratha that he too would experience "Putrashoka" (in Sanskrit, "putra" is child/son and "shoka" is grief; grief due to loss of a son). As a result of this curse, Maharaja Dasaratha underwent extreme transcendental pain of separation from his most-beloved son Lord Ramacandra after He left for exile along with Sita and Laxmana.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-acarya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) visited Amritsar in October 1970. Srila Prabhupada spent 10 days in Amritsar and attended the Vedanta Sammelan. Although it was only scheduled for a few hours, Srila Prabhupada didn't limit his preaching. He preached every hour of the day. Because the Vedanta Sammelan was full of so-called experts commenting on Mayavadi philosophy, Srila Prabhupada addressed Mayavadi. He explained elaborately the distinction between Lord Krishna and the living entity and explained how the Lord, when He appears, displays certain unmistakable characteristics that identify Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There were thousands of people in the audience. His presentation pleased everyone, and the committee members honoured him by making him president of the Vedanta Sammelan.

Visiting the Golden Temple, a guide took Srila Prabhupada and his disciples around and answered their questions. Srila Prabhupada was very impressed with their prasadam distribution program. The Sikhs feed everyone, every day out of the Gurdwaras, and they say no one in the town should go hungry. This interested Prabhupada, and he observed their massive operation. As Srila Prabhupada along with his disciples watched how the Sikhs performed the cooking of all this prasada, Srila Prabhupada instructed the devotees that this is how he wants prasadam distribution to be done. Srila Prabhupada signed the guest book at Golden Temple: "A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami." Under Religion he wrote "Krsnaite." And under Comments he wrote "very spiritual." Srila Prabhupada and the devotees went on to visit various places, including Rama Tirtha Sarovara, the lake where the great sage Valmiki had his asrama. Srila Prabhupada was flooded with invitations from families to come and visit their homes. He accepted as many invitations as possible-more than possible preaching Krishna Consciousness.

Amritsar lies 25 km east of the border with Pakistan. It is well connected by air, rail and bus with various cities in India. Amritsar is 450 km from Delhi and 235 km from Chandigarh. There is also a bus service to Lahore, 35 km away, which is the only overland connection between India and Pakistan.

Important places to visit Amritsar:

1. Sri Harmandir Sahib - Golden Temple

2. Sri Rama Tirtha Sarovara - Valmiki ashram

3. Sri Durgiana Temple

4. Samadhi of Shravan

5. ISKCON Amritsar (Hare Krishna) Temple

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